Archive for Category: Asking Questions

Boost your sales with problem identification, not problem solving

Are you engaged in problem identification or problem solving? Are you identifying problems, or solving problems identified? Confused? Well, if you are selling in a hardware shop and a customer comes in stating, “I want a drill,” do you sell him one, or do you find out why (or what for)? If you do the

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Answer a question with a question and close faster

A good sales person will answer a question with a question. For example, completely out of the blue, the buyer says, “Can you give us a discount?” The seasoned seller curiously but firmly asks, “Why?” Here’s another non-sales example: “Should we hold the Parents Day in the afternoon or morning?” the principal asks the School’s

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How to sell doubt and differentiate yourself

Differentiating yourself on price is a race for the bottom. Who hits bottom first, wins. And be dammed the cost. All else lose. Differentiating yourself by ethically selling doubt is more productive. But how to sell doubt, you wonder? Well, read on. First off, doubt triggers pause. Doubt triggers introspection. Doubt triggers attention. And all

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How do you build trust in selling?

How important is it to build trust in selling? Changing hastily made commitments raises eyebrows, and breaks trust. Understand the scope of work before pricing it. The more if you are In the B2B (Business-to-Business) industry, where tip-of-the iceberg symptoms are verbalized as the iceberg problem by the potential buyer (prospect). Take the institution (a

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How to sell professional services like a plumber

Plumbers, doctors, carpenters, auditors, electricians, accountants all benefit from knowing how to sell professional services First, let’s take a break from matters disease and talk about my plumber. The man is living testimony of how professionals and technical staff can deepen the sale. Now then. Sellers initiate the sale’s relationship; technical staff deepen it. When

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How to overcome buyer excuses for not buying in January

Sales people that buy into this, “Bado mapema” mantra struggle with jumpstarting their selling batteries, the more post their holidaying. Buyers have the luxury of excuses for not getting into the thick of (business) things in January but you don’t. The favourite ones include, “Bado mapema, boss” (It’s still too early in the year) and

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Ask questions to establish fact from assumption

Even if he has just seen three patients in succession before you, displaying the same symptoms as you, a doctor will not infer the same diagnosis for you. Inference is a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning. Fact is a thing that is known or proved to be true. Consider the sentence,

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